Sonoma County Justice Court records, 1904-1976
Finding aid author: Mark Cooper.
This work is licensed by Sonoma County Library under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) 4.0 International License
Published Feb 28, 2011
Sonoma County Justice Court records, 1904-1976
Sonoma County Library
Collection Title: Sonoma County Justice Court records,
Date (inclusive): 1904-1976
Identification: SCG.00058
Creator:
California. Justice Court (Sonoma County)
Physical Description:
6 volumes
Language of Materials:
English
Repository:
Sonoma County Library Archives
Abstract: This collection contains crminal and civil justice dockets of the Sonoma County Justice Court, including records of other
justice courts under the County Court's jurisdiction
Biography/Organization History
Prior to June 1998, California's trial courts consisted of Superior and Municipal courts, each with its own jurisdiction and
with its number of judges fixed by the Legislature; prior to 1934, the Sonoma County Justice Court was one of fifteen such
inferior courts in the County. The Justice Court (also known as the County Justice's Court; more formally designated as the
State of California's Justice Court for Sonoma County), had jurisdiction over several smaller courts in the County, including
Sonoma , Vallejo, Petaluma and Mendocino townships.
The County court, like other justice courts, was an inferior local tribunal for the adjudication of minor causes and the
preservation of the peace. By the Act of March 16, 1850, which divided up the state into judicial districts, "the term of
office of a justice of the peace was fixed at one year. Two justices were allowed to each township, also two constables, the
officers who serve the processes of the court. The jurisdiction of a justice extended to the limits of the township for which
he was elected. He had cognizance of actions on contract, for damages, and to recover specific property, when the amount or
value did not exceed $200. In 1851, his powers were considerably increased. He had jurisdiction of actions to recover money,
for damages to personal property, for fines, penalties and forfeitures, actions on bonds, enforcement of lien on personal
property, actions to recover personal property and judgment by confession, where the amount in all these cases did not exceed
$8,500, and on a bond taken by him if the amount did exceed that sum, cases of forcible entry and detainer, and the trial
of the right of mining claims. The criminal jurisdiction embraced vagrancy, disorder, petty larceny, assault and battery,
breaches of the peace, and all misdemeanors punishable by a fine of not more than $500 and not more than one year's imprisonment.
In 1863, forcible entry and detainer cases were transferred to the county court, and the civil jurisdiction was reduced to
amounts not exceeding $300. In 1870, the jurisdiction of cases of misdemeanor was extended to fines of $1,000 and imprisonment
for one year: but in 1874 it was reduced to fines of $500 and six months' imprisonment. In 1863, the term of office of justices
and constables was increased to two years. The new constitution preserved the justice courts as before." (source: Wells, Harry
Laurenz, 1854-1940. History of Butte County. San Francisco : H. L. Wells, 1882.)
The County Justice Court was active until 1976. A number of reorganizations and consolidations of the County's court system
took place over the next two decades until the various inferior courts were absorbed into the Superior Court following the
voter-authorized reorganization in 1998, California Proposition 220.
Official records of the County Justice Court
Organized into three series:
- Civil justice docket, 1904-1976
- Criminal justice docket, 1922-1965
- Speed record, 1935
Arranged chronologically within each series.
This Collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Civil procedure--California--Sonoma County
Criminal justice, Administration of--California--Sonoma County
Civil court records
Criminal court records
Dockets
Registers (lists)
Judicial records
County government records
Archival materials
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Materials stored offsite, but collection is open to research. In many cases, further details on individual volumes can be
found by calling staff at the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library. To view these materials, please call staff at
707 308-3212 to request they be brought from the Archives to the Library
Property rights reside with the Sonoma County Library. The Sonoma County Library has made this collection available and believes
that the collection is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its
copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Collection may not be in the Public Domain under the laws
of other countries. Preferred credit line is: Courtesy, the Sonoma County Library. Please see additional reproduction and
reuse information at
https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library/order-photo
Sonoma County Justice Court records, 1904-1976. SCG.00058, Sonoma County Archives, Sonoma County Library, Rohnert Park, California.
Chronological
SCL Special Collections Control Number: SCG.00058.01
Series 1. Civil justice docket
1904-1976
Note:
Series content list:
13 Nov 1962-26 Jan 1965 : Civil justice docket, Sonoma Township : ARCHIVES CABINET 27 : Accession [????]
[coverage undetermined] : ARCHIVES ROW 2 BIN 1
[coverage undetermined] : ARCHIVES ROW 2 BIN 2
[coverage undetermined] : ARCHIVES ROW 2 BIN 5
[coverage undetermined] : ARCHIVES ROW 2 BIN 6
Physical Description:
Extent: 21 volumes
Archives Row 2, Bins 1, 2, 5 and 6 contain multiple volumes
Includes records from the justice courts under the supervision of the County Justice Court: Santa Rosa Township, 1908-1928,
1975-1976; Mendocino Township, 1916-1918; Petaluma Township, 1904-1906, 1944; Sonoma Township 13 Nov 1962-26 Jan 1965
SCL Special Collections Control Number: SCG.00058.02
Series 2. Criminal justice docket
1922-1965
Note:
Series content list:
Vol. 28 . Cases 3512-3810 ( 1922-09 - 1923-03 ) : Criminal Justice Docket : ARCHIVES CABINET 37 : Accession 2735
Vol. 56 . Cases 830-2266 ( 1940-06-24 - 1943-01-28 ) : Criminal Justice Docket : ARCHIVES CABINET 28 : Accession
2323
1946/1948 ( 1946-09-30 - 1948-02-03 ) : Criminal Docket : ARCHIVES CABINET 27 : Accession 2235
1958/1960 ( 1958-04-08 - 1960-06-30 ) : Criminal Docket : ARCHIVES CABINET 27 : Accession 2237
Physical Description:
Extent: 4 volumes
SCL Special Collections Control Number: SCG.00058.03
Series 3. Speed record
1935
Note:
Series content list:
1935/1935 ( 1935-02-10 - 1935-02-10 ) : Speed Record : ARCHIVES CABINET 27 : Accession 2234
Physical Description:
Extent: 1 volume